The SEC was loaded a season ago with five teams making the College Football Playoff. This year should be even better with top end talent littering potentially playoff bound rosters across the league. Here’s an early look at which teams have the best position units in the SEC heading into the 2026 season.
Quarterbacks: Ole Miss
This one is difficult because the purpose of this isn’t to name the team with the best player at the position but the position as a whole. Georgia has some really good talent behind Gunner Stockton. Few teams in the SEC have had to experience the value of quarterback depth than Texas under Steve Sarkisian with starters missing time in multiple years with him at the helm.
The answer is Ole Miss. Trinidad Chambliss returns as a Heisman candidate. The depth piece that Pete Golding added is also key though. Ole Miss went to the portal and got former five star Auburn quarterback Deuce Knight. The combination of those skillsets, as well as experience, should be huge for the Rebels this season as both should see the field.
Honorable Mention: Texas and Georgia
Running Backs: Missouri
This one is tougher than any other offensive position. Texas brought in two top 50 players in the portal at the running back position and will look to get back to their offensive identity. The Longhorns averaged over 2,400 yards rushing per season over the previous three years. Georgia also has a stable of backs led by Nate Frazier. Then there’s LSU who seems to be overlooked and is also loaded with talent in an offense that loves to run the football under Lane Kiffin.
Bu the answer is Missouri. The Tigers return Ahmad Hardy who led the SEC in rushing a season ago with 1,649 yards. That was nearly 100 yards more than Kewan Lacy and Hardy did so in two fewer games. Hardy was shot this offseason and is recovering from that injury.
The good news for Eli Drinkwitz is that his backup Jamal Roberts finished 12th in the SEC in rushing with 753 yards and 6.1 yards per carry. Missouri has had the leading rusher in the SEC in three of the last five years, and this year should be no different.
Honorable Mention: Texas, Georgia and LSU
Wide Receiver: Texas
This is almost as close as the quarterback position. Alabama has very little depth with just seven scholarship receivers, but the talent at the top is elite. The Tide will return Ryan Coleman-Williams for third season, CFP hero Lotzier Brooks, and five star Cederian Morgan. Tennessee returns two 800 yard receivers from a season ago and brings in the highest ranked WR recruit in the history of the program, TK Keys.
Similar to Tennessee, the Longhorns return two 800 yard receivers in Cam Coleman (Auburn) and Ryan Wingo. They also return Kaliq Lockett, a former five star, who is now entering year two. That doesn’t even include Emmett Mosley V or Wake Forest transfer Sterling Berkhalter who essentially played in the same offense a season ago. The weapons they’ve surrounded Arch Manning with are deep and immensely talented.
Honorable Mention: Tennessee and Alabama
Offensive Line: Tennessee
This specific position unit is the one no one seems to be talking about enough. Games are won and lost in the trenches in the SEC. They always have been. It feels like with the amount of new players turnstiling their way through the SEC every year because of the transfer portal, the amount of instability year over year at this unit is rampant. That doesn’t mean there won’t be really good units in the league this season, it just highlights the difficulty in finding continuity each offseason. That’s not the case for Tennessee.
The Vols have the best offensive line in the conference, and it’s not particularly close. They return freshman All-American David Sanders Jr. along with four other starters. They brought in one of the best centers in the country in Sam Pendleton. No one in the conference returns more starters on the offensive line and they should look similar to their 2024 unit that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award.
Honorable Mention: Georgia and Texas
